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Britline brilliant assistance...


MrCanary
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I'm certainly not knocking it but Britline is a great marketing ploy.

Many of the regional incarnations of CA have an English web page but there is little or no mention of an english helpline.

So someone in Normandie has this idea, sets up a bigger/better english website, give it a fancy name, employs a few English speakers as a helpdesk and Bob's votre oncle.

This then leads to many of us with interests all around France using a Normandie bank.

Not only that but they actually back up the marketing hype with a good service.

From a business point of view its fantastic.

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[quote user="WJT"]

Thanks Pachapapa.

I am with Chancer on this. If I were to change French banks I think I would change to Britline. However, I still don't like the idea that they don't have a local branch. Even if I don't need it I still like to know the option is there.

[/quote]

I bank with First Direct in the UK and admittedly I can go in to HSBC branches think that the service is excellent.

Friendly people on the phone who are always helpful and available whenever I want them. Being Internet and phone based perhaps means that they have to focus more on customer service.

Paul

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Like Paul, I have grown so used to internet and telephone banking that I've virtually forgotten what the face-to-face kind is like.

I used to be with the National Giro (in the days before it got privatised into oblivion) and my local "branch" was my Post Office, much like the La Poste bank is here, I guess.  Now, it was a great idea in theory to be able to use your local post office as your bank, but in practice, it was much better to phone them (few people had internet then!) because it was only a bank branch in name - the post office tellers couldn't really be expected to act as bank clerks and/or managers and give anybody any individual assistance beyond the basics - the kind of thing that nowadays you can get from an ATM anyway.  I guess La Poste banking is therefore pretty similar and I know a few people on here use it - but is it any better than an internet/telephone bank just because you can walk into a branch?

Post privatisation I moved my money to a building society in the UK and they had a local branch but I never used it except to deposit cash.  Even in my local CA branch I now have to use the machines to do this so there's little they actually do for me that I couldn't manage without.

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I very rarely use the services of a branch in France or the UK but I do on occasion have the need. For example as mentioned before for a larger amount of cash withdrawal or to deposit a cheque in a different currency etc.. or in France having the branch hold a cheque book for me to pick up instead of sending it to our UK address if I'm here in France.

It is funny that CCSO charge a monthly fee for internet banking but I can call and pester the staff for balances or other questions about my accounts as much as I want for free! Having said that outside of this last time they no longer allow me to transfer from savings into our current account over the phone. They say that the rules are now we must go into a branch and make this request and sign for it. They did it for me this last time because I stupidly allowed the current account to go into debit but this was an exception so now I must visit my local branch to do this.

I assume that CA or Britline would allow you to do this over the phone? Do they charge extra for internet banking?

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Internet banking is "free"  - I use the quotes because it's free to go on line and check balances etc but some transactions are charged for.  Once another account is nominated (which is a bit of a fag - unlike in the UK when you just put the number of the account in and off you go), you can make transfers on line any time you want.  I only have one CA account (no savings account) so don't know how easy it is to transfer between the two but as doing this between accounts with other banks is easy then I can't see why it should be complicated.  The only time I found it a bit boring was to transfer to a Euro accont in another country, when I had to write a letter and sign it to authorise the transfer but I did this by scanning into an e-mail so it was done the same day.

I do understand you reluctance, WJT, it is losing a physical connection with your bank, but as so much is no longer done in branch, I think it's far less critical than it once was.  What's more, changing banks is never easy, is it - even in the UK?

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Since we seem to have moved on to discussing alternative banks, I would mention that if you are looking to avoid paying charges for bank accounts or for debit cards in France, then have a look at Boursorama (which is SocGen's online bank, and has some - only a few - branches of its own) or Fortuneo. Both do free cards subject to either regular income or a level of savings held with them. However, I do not think that either specifically provide a service in English - though you may be able to get them to pass you to an operative with English language skills. Both will provide accounts for UK residents.

Regards

Pickles

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